14 8.7: Structure – Pronoms objets directs
In this section, you will learn how to:
- Identify direct objects in a sentence
- Use direct object pronouns to avoid repetition
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
On étudie !
(a) Direct object pronouns are used in place of direct object nouns. In English, for example, I can replace the word pizza with the pronoun it:
I eat the pizza ➔ I eat it
s. v. o. s. v. o.
A direct object is a noun — a person or thing — that someone or something acts upon. In this case, the object is the pizza. If the pizza was eating me, then I would be the object. Fortunately for me, the pizza is the object that I am eating, and I am the subject doing the eating.
So, the first thing you need to do is recognize what the direct object is in a sentence. In the following examples, you can see how Madeleine or Maywi can both assume the roles of subject and object depending on word order:
| sujet | verbe | objet |
|---|---|---|
| Madeleine | voit | Maywi. |
| Madeleine | sees | Maywi. |
| sujet | verbe | objet |
|---|---|---|
| Maywi | voit | Madeleine. |
| Maywi | sees | Madeleine. |
In English, we can replace the names Maywi and Madeleine with the direct object pronouns he and she, respectively:
| sujet | verbe | objet |
|---|---|---|
| Madeleine | sees | him. |
| sujet | verbe | objet |
|---|---|---|
| Maywi | sees | her. |
In French, we would use the following pronouns:
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| me, m’ | me |
| te, t’ | you |
| le, l’ | him, it |
| la, l’ | her, it |
| nous | us |
| vous | you |
| les | them |
However, in French a direct object pronoun must be placed before the verb for which it is the object.
| Sujet | Pronom d’objet direct | Verbe | Traduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madeleine | le | voit | Madeleine sees him. |
| Sujet | Pronom d’objet direct | Verbe | Traduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maywi | la | voit | Maywi sees her. |
Just like subject pronouns (see unité 1), the object pronouns must agree in gender and number with the nouns they are replacing. Here some more examples in French:
— Est-ce que tu manges souvent les gâteaux de ta mère ? (Do you eat your mother’s cakes often?)
— Oui, je les mange tout le temps ! [les = gâteaux de ta mère (m., pl.)] (Yes, I eat them all the time!) [them = my mother’s cakes]
— Tu entends la musique ? (Do you hear the music?)
— Oui, je l’entends. [l’ = la = la musique (f., sing.] (Yes, I hear it.) [it = the music]
— Est-ce que tu m’aimes ? (Do you love me?) [m’ = me = moi]
— Oui, je t’aime beaucoup ! [t’ = te = toi] (Yes, I love you very much!)
(b) If a verb is followed by an infinitive, the direct object pronoun usually precedes the infinitive of which it is the object.
| Sujet | Verbe conjugué | Pronom d’objet direct | Infinitif | Traduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maywi | va | la | voir | Maywi is going to see her. |
Je vais le finir demain. (I am going to finish it tomorrow.)
Il veut nous inviter. (He wants to invite us.)
(c) Direct object pronouns can be used with voici and voilà:
— Où es-tu ? (Where are you?)
— Me voici ! (Here I am!)
J’attends mes frères. Ah, les voilà ! (I am waiting for my brothers. Ah, there they are!)
Here are some characteristics of direct objects to remember:
- Always used with transitive verbs
- Never preceded by prepositions
- Cannot be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence
- Become the subject when sentence is turned around into the passive voice
- Can always be found by asking “Whom?” or “What?”. For example:
Whom do you know? You know Paul.
What do I see? I see the elephant.
What am I reading? I’m reading a poem.
(d) With the passé composé, direct object pronouns are placed before the auxiliary verb avoir.
| Sujet | Pronom d’objet direct | Verbe auxiliaire (avoir) | Participe passé | Traduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maywi | l’ (la) |
a | vue | Maywi saw her |
Nous les avons mangés. (We ate them.)
Vous l’avez visité. (You visited it.)
Tu m’a vu. (You saw me.)
Ils vous aident. (They help you.)
Direct objects are never used with the passé composé avec être, so you will only use a direct object pronoun before the auxiliary verb avoir.
On pratique !
Activité A
Répondez aux questions suivantes en remplaçant chaque objet direct par le pronom d’objet direct approprié.
Modèle :
Tu regardes la télé ? ➔
Oui, je la regarde souvent pendant le week-end.
(Non, je ne la regarde jamais).
- Tu fais les courses ?
- Tu ranges ta chambre ?
- Tu prends ton café noir ou avec un peu de lait le matin ?
- Tu fais ton lit ?
- Tu aimes les films d’horreur ?
- Tu vas faire les devoirs ce soir ?
- Tu veux visiter la France ?
Activité B
Répondez à chaque question en utilisant voilà ou voici avec un pronom de l’objet direct.
Modèle :
Où sont mes chaussures ? ➔
Les voilà !
- Où est mon sac à dos ?
- Où sont mes clés ?
- Où est ta mère ?
- Où sommes-nous ?
- Où est ma brosse à dents ?
On approfondit !
Use the following resources to type accents and/or search for words:
- Accents: ç, à, é, è, â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ë, ï, ü
- Dictionnaire français-anglais
